Sincerely Yours
by RoonilWazlib347
Summary: Edward and Bella, together forever. They've been bestfriends for 7 years. But when he reads Bella's letter and becomes her secret admirer, he must decide which is more important: their friendship, or his undying love for her. All human ExB AxJ. EPOV.
1. Time Capsule

**A/N: hey everyone. here's my first all human story. hope you like it!**

**Edward POV**

"This is stupid, Alice," I heard Bella mutter from the other side of her bedroom door.

"No it's not!" Alice shrieked, feigning offense. I winced. I could hear Alice's voice fine without pressing my ear to the door.

"Seriously," Bella huffed, using a tone I knew all too well. Next, she would cross her arms and roll her eyes. It wasn't because I had x-ray vision and could see through the door that I knew—Bella was just so predictable that I didn't have to. "I don't see the point of this," she continued. "I'm just going to read this later and feel ridiculous. Why should I put so much time and effort into something that could—and will—come back to bite me in the butt?"

I had to muffle my laughter. That was typical Bella. In the seven years that we had been best friends, she had never liked doing anything that would, in any way, make her the center of attention or embarrass her. Of course, this was partly because she had trouble walking in a straight line on an open sidewalk for more than three minutes at a time, but that was beside the point.

In any case, she was glad, at least for now, that Driver's Ed had escaped her this year. She had turned 15 in the beginning of our sophomore year of High School, so she was young for our grade. But that had never mattered. We'd always been best friends anyway.

Then last year, my cousin Alice had come to live in Forks, and became friends with Bella and I. Alice was a bit more eccentric than Bella, but she didn't seem to mind, so neither did I. We hung out with Alice a lot, but we always made sure that there was enough 'Edward-Bella time' for us two best friends to hang out.

Even so, lately I had started thinking of 'Edward-Bella time' more as 'let's confuse Edward time'.

I wasn't sure why, but I had recently found myself looking at Bella differently. Noticing more things. Like the way her long, mahogany hair waved as the wind rippled through it. How her sparkling chocolate eyes danced as the corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile. The way her blush infiltrated the paleness of her cheeks when she was embarrassed.

As soon as I thought these irrational things, I quickly banished them from my mind. I didn't—and wouldn't—think about her that way. The only feelings I had ever and would ever feel for her were friendship.

At least, that's what I had been trying to convince myself since the beginning of the year.

Inside Bella's room, the battle raged on.

"Oh, come on Bella, please?" Alice begged. "It's already written. Just let me take it home, and you'll never have to see it again until you graduate from Forks High. Think of it as a time capsule."

"Alice…" Bella moaned.

After a little more groaning and a lot more begging, Bella finally gave in.

"Yay!" Alice sang. "Thank you, Bella! Thus is going to be so much _fun!_"

"If you mean 'fun' as in getting eaten alive by an angry crocodile, then yeah, sure. Fun," Bella agreed darkly under her breath. I chuckled.

Alice pretended not to hear her. "Oh, and don't worry. I won't let Edward see it, even if he is listening outside the door right now."

I should have known better than to hide from Alice. I opened the door with my hands held up over my head. Bella laughed, sending tingles down my spine. Stupid hormones.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know, Edward," she said jokingly.

"Well then it's a good thing they have nine lives. And that I'm not a cat."

Alice rolled her eyes at us. "You two are quite a pair."

"You know what they say," I prompted, winking at Bella. "Edward and Bella—"

"Together forever!" she finished.

I smiled at our cheesy catchphrase. It was something we had made up one day after graduating from elementary school. Bella was worried that because we were moving to a different school, our friendship would end. To convince her otherwise, I made up what turned out to be our motto. No need to tell her that it took on a whole new meaning to me now.

I shook my head, bringing myself out of thought I should_ not_ have been thinking. Bella was talking to Alice and myself.

"…go home so soon, but I have to get started on dinner for me and Charlie… God forbid that man try to cook something himself when he gets home." She shuddered and made a face.

"Well if he does, you know where I live," I told her. Smarter people than Bella had been forced to endure their parent's cooking. I was proud to say that my house had been a safe haven for her on such occasions. She nodded seriously, accepting my offer.

"Bye, Bella," Alice and I said, stepping out the door.

"Bye, guys. See you later."

As soon as Bella had closed the front door and we were halfway down the block, Alice stopped me.

"Okay, Edward," she said, taking out a piece of paper with Bella's handwriting on both sides, "I have a job for you. See this paper?" she asked, wagging it in front of my face. I nodded dumbly.

"Good to know you're not blind," she muttered. "Anyway, I need you to take this to the post office. Tell the guy working there to hand this to any guy our age that walks by."

"Wha—"

"Only make sure he's cute," she continued, considering something for a minute. "Yes, and make sure he's not a bubble-brain. And don't forget hot—ugly would be very bad."

"What? Alice—"

"But anyway, tell him all that. And be quick about it. Because Bella's not supposed to know about this yet."

"Why not? And—"

"Don't ask question! You're wasting time, man! Just go!" She gave me an exasperated sigh. "You know, sometimes you can make things so difficult, Edward."

I raised my hand. Hopefully she would respond better to non-verbal interruptions.

"_What,_ Edward?"

I gulped. For someone so small, Alice would look very dangerous. "Well, why don't you do it?" I managed to ask.

Alice rolled her eyes at me. Obviously there was some critical fact that I had overlooked.

"If I do it, Bella will suspect something. But If you go, then she'll never know!" I raised an eyebrow at her.

She shrugged. "Plus the post office is in the opposite direction of my house, and I need to get home."

I hesitated for a minute, then decided that I could risk asking on more question. "But…why? What is it for? Why are you doing this?" I paused, and then looked at the ground sheepishly. "I thought it was supposed to be a time capsule or something."

I chanced a glance up at Alice's face. She was shaking her head back and forth at my pityingly.

"Edward, why would I have Bella make a _time capsule?_" she asked incredulously, as if I had asked her why trees can't dance the conga.

"But I thought—"

"You have a lot to learn, Edward," she said. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but if you can promise to keep it a secret and not say anything to Bella…"

"I promise," I agreed hastily without thinking.

"Okay," she decided hesitantly. "Well, Bella's life here in Forks has been pretty uneventful so far. Sorry," she apologized quickly when she saw that I was about to protest," but it's true. So I thought, you know, to jazz things up a bit, I'd have her write a letter telling all about her self. Her likes, her dislikes, that kind of thing."

I was still confused. "But how would that 'jazz things up a bit'?"

She groaned. "I'm telling you! Maybe if you'd just shut up for a second, I could finish!"

I put a hand over my mouth.

"Where was I? Oh yeah, the letter," she said to herself. "So instead of putting that letter in a _time capsule_ like I told her, I planned on giving it to a guy here in Forks! Then, if the postman gives the letter to an honorable guy, Bella can have something like a secret admirer! Well, that's only if he keeps his identity a secret…but anyway, she'll have a boyfriend, which is my goal. Don't worry," Alice said, glancing briefly at me, "I checked her letter to make sure it was any good." She smiled at me soothingly.

But Alice had misinterpreted my expression. Instead of worry, I would bet my college savings that my face held absolute shock.

"Alice, Bella wouldn't want that!"

"She doesn't _know_ she doesn't want that. If she knew, then she might want it. But since she doesn't, that means she doesn't know whether she wants it or not."

I stared at her blankly.

"Boys," she muttered. "Anyway, I _really_ have to go now." Before I would say anything, she shoved the piece of paper into my hand and ran toward her house. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder. With that, she was gone.

I stared at the note, holding it cautiously away from my body as if it were a hand grenade.

I had absolutely no idea what to do. There was, of course, the obvious choice: to do what Alice said. It would be easy enough to hand the paper to Mr. McGillicudy, the elderly man who ran the post office. Forks was such a small town that I had gotten to know just about everyone over the years. It would be simple, and then Alice would have no reason to bust my chops about it later.

But for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Hot, angry blood pulsed through my veins at the thought of some random guy hitting on Bella; it was wrong on so many levels. How could Alice not see that?

And there was so much more to Bella than could be written in a single letter. A single letter couldn't explain how she slept with her pajamas inside out and backwards in hope of a snow day the next morning. A single letter couldn't explain how, every night, she would make a wish on the first star she saw. A single letter wouldn't explain how, if she had the choice, she would make it mandatory to eat at least a little chocolate with every meal.

A single letter, I decided, couldn't possibly explain how very important Bella was to me.

In that instant, I made a snap decision without consciously knowing I had done so. My hand clenched around the letter, and I burst into a sprint.

When I got home I went straight to my room, not even stopping to notice the sweet aroma of whatever my mother Esme was making for dinner.

I shut my door, locking it behind me. Then I opened the letter and started to read.

**A/N: please review :)**


	2. Sincerely Yours

**A/N: thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews! sorry about the wait. soccer is hell, but hopefully it will get better. enjoy :)**

**Chapter 2**

Edward's POV

I read her letter over once, twice, three times, obsessing over her writing and letting the words on the page sink in as I memorized them.

_I'm a little confused. Why am I writing this? Oh that's right—because Alice made me._

_Basically what she told me to do was write down things about myself. I suppose that means what I look like, what I like, and what makes me want to hurl. Maybe that's a little graphic. Sorry._

_But what I want to know it this: How am I supposed to fit everything about myself in a letter? All of my memories, my ambitions, and my experiences? I believe that the greatest things in life have no description. They're so intricate and breathtaking and perfect that they simply can't be written down on a piece of paper for another person, and expect that person to be able to understand and capture the moment as if they had experienced it themselves. No matter how skilled of a writer a person is, some things are too special for that. But I promise I'll try._

_I stand a respectable five feet, four inches tall—though 'stand' might not be the right ford. I actually tend to fall. A lot. It's usually pretty embarrassing, which is bad for me. I hate being the center of attention. Then again, that's probably because when I am the center of attention, I fall. See the cycle?_

_I have average brown hair, average brown eyes, and…well, kind of average everything else. Obviously I don't play many sports for the safety of myself and the others around me. And so that Charlie won't get slammed with all those nasty ER bills. _

_Charlie's my father, by the way, and as far as fathers go I'd say he's a pretty good one. All the bills get paid (although that may change if ER bills were brought into the picture), he's there when I need him, and he's always willing to watch and explain any type of sporting event to me, even if that's not exactly my cup of tea._

_I don't mean to make him sound perfect, but Charlie's a genuinely good guy. Well, except for that whole cooking thing._

_See, Charlie doesn't mean to make his food poisonous—it just somehow always turns out that way. Seriously. When God said all men were created equal, that obviously didn't include their cooking abilities._

_Here's an example. Most people would believe that Jell-O is an exceptionally easy feat to achieve, right? Well, not Charlie. First, imagine him yelling at the water for 15 minutes, telling it to boil. He forgot to turn on the stove. Then imagine, if you will, the fire alarm going off when the water spilled over the side of he pot and turned our entire house into smoke city. And that was just boiling the water! At age ten, I hurriedly took on the roll of Kitchen Chef in order to keep both Charlie and I alive. _

_Of course, this stuff isn't really what Alice would call 'relevant information,' but then again, she did make me write all this. The least she could do it let me decide what to put in it._

_That excuse probably wouldn't have any pull with her. Don't get me wrong; Alice is a great friend. She's one of my best friends in Forks. I've been really fortunate with finding good friends even though the selection here is pretty skimpy. _

_Some people might find it irritating to live in a town where your entire High School consists of about 400 kids, but I find it oddly comforting. I like being able to say hello to everyone in town. I like being able to pick out all of my classmates by name. It makes me feel safe. _

_I'm contemplating putting this down, partly because Alive would kill me if she knew I was keeping this from her, and partly because I've always had trouble admitting it to myself. Alice is amazing, but I don't think she'd understand. She's never really had this problem herself._

_See, in all those 400 people, I still haven't found anyone. I know that sounds silly. All that talk of finding 'the one' and 'happily ever after'. I've read about it so many times that it almost seems real. But I suppose that's the difference, isn't it? Anything can happen in books; reality, on the other hand, has rules. _

_But enough about that. Another strange fact about me: I don't have pet peeves. It's almost the opposite. There are a couple of slightly childish things that I've been doing ever since I could remember, and will probably still be doing right up until the day I die. Some people might call them 'charming', but I know better. _

_Number one: if there is any chance of a snow day, I will wear my pajamas inside out and backwards for luck. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it's still fun._

_Number two: when I was little, Charlie told me that if you wished upon the first star you saw, your wish would come true. So every night since then, I have recited the poem and made a wish._

_Number three: First of all, I love chocolate. Any kind of chocolate. Dark, light, milk, malt—you name it, I'll eat it. So when a state test in third grade asked me what I would do to make the world a better place, I told the truth. My teacher found it hilarious that little Bella Swan would make it a law that you had to eat chocolate for every meal. So she took pity on my and let me take the test again. That time, I lied and said World Peace. I got an A+._

_So that's me in a nutshell. Again, it might not be exactly what Alice had in mind, but it's what she's going to get. That'll teach her not to make me 'spill out my soul and innermost desires' onto a piece of paper. Hah. (My evil laugh is in currently in the shop, so that's all I have right now. Sorry.)_

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Bella Swan._

Under that was her address—probably Alice's means of contact. Little did she know that the recipient of her letter already knew if by heart.

Looking over it again, I couldn't believe that Alice had let some of that stuff slide. Then again, maybe she had wanted the letter to sound as much like Bella as possible. I was proud of her.

Bella probably wasn't even aware of it, but this piece of paper reflected her own personality perfectly. Rom her clumsiness to her father's cooking, she had written everything down to a science. Even when she talked about her looks, I knew that she believed what she had written. She believed herself average, though I knew differently. She was the opposite of average—she was spectacular.

So, before I could stop myself, I made a decision. I wrote back to her.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

I walked anxiously behind Bella and Alice on the way home from the park. Today we had learned two very valuable lessons: The monkey bars are harder to do when you have to worry about your feet dragging across the ground, and that there is a reason slides are called 'slides', and not 'run-down-and-slip-and-fall'.

And I myself had learned that patience is a virtue, and not one that I possess. It had been less than 12 hours since I had left the note under the eaves of Bella's house, and I was already getting nervous.

When I had first put the note where I knew she was bound to find it (she always puts her keys there), it was about seven in the morning, before Charlie had even left for work. Three times, I had gone back to that same spot, contemplating taking it out and ditching all the evidence. Three times, my mind had pulled up images and memories of Bella to remind me why I was attempting this crazy feat. _She's worth it, _I would tell myself every time. And no matter how many times I thought it, it would always be true.

So when Bella reached up for the keys to her house, I held my breath.

Her fingers searched around for a bit, groping for the small metal object. Then her eyebrows pulled together ever so slightly, and with the keys, came down a piece of paper.

I forced myself to stay calm. I had to act natural. Alice, on the other hand, was the opposite of calm.

"What's that, Bella?" she asked, curiously at first.

Bella flipped it over a couple times in her hands. "I don't know…but it has my name on it."

I heard a sharp intake of breath. Initially I thought it had come from my own mouth. Then I looked to my left and saw Alice hopping up and down, waving her hands every which way. I was surprised she hadn't started to hyperventilate yet.

"Ohmigod, Bella! Open it! Open it! For God's sake, what is it? No!" she screamed, as a startled Bella began to unfold the letter. "Not here! In your room!"

She looked at Alice in confusion. "But you said—"

"It doesn't matter what I said!" Alice shrieked, pushing Bella inside with one hand and pulling me inside with the other. "Listen to what I'm saying now! Into your room!"

Once we had been dragged into her room, Alice insisted on locking the door, even though Charlie wasn't home yet.

"Okay," Alice said, plopping down on the floor next to me while Bella sat on the bed. "Now open it. I want to know what's inside!"

At her words, I immediately felt my heartbeat quicken. I knew exactly what was inside.

Slowly, Bella unfolded it. Slowly, her eyes grew wider as they darted across the page.

After a couple of seconds, Alice couldn't take it. "Well??" she demanded.

"It's a letter," she said.

"Don't just sit there!" Alice yelped. "Read it! Edward and I want to know what it says! Right, Edward?"

I managed to nod my head.

"Well, all right," Bella opted unwillingly. She began to read.

"Dear Bella," She started.

"I received the letter that your friend Alice had you write." Bella looked up and glared at Alice. "What _letter?_" she asked.

Alice just smiled. "The time capsule. Keep going."

"What?! Alice—"

"Keep going!" Alice repeated, waving her hand impatiently.

Bella sighed, but continued.

"Please don't think that I am being stalker-ish in any way—your letter simply fascinated my to no end, and compelled me to write back.

"I'm going to comment on every part of your letter, so try to be patient. Hopefully you'll manage much better than I did while reading yours."

At this Bella blushed the deep shade of red that I liked so much. But she kept on reading without a pause, to I pretended not to notice.

"First of all, I am not going to be as straight-forward about who I am; not all of us are as comfortable putting practically our entire existence onto a piece of paper for a complete stranger to read as others. But, to be fair, I'm not as much of a stranger as you probably think I am. Let's leave it at that."

"Oh, Bella, it's someone you know!" squealed Alice. "Who do you think it is?"

Before Alice could start guessing, Bella surprised both of us by shushing her. "Let me finish," Bella said stubbornly.

"I, myself, have been blessed with a parent who has a talent in the kitchen. I'm not the best cook, but I suppose if I had to I could get by on grilled cheese, omelets, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. However, even including 'that whole cooking thing', your father Charlie sounds like a good man. You're lucky to have him.

"I have a couple of pet peeves, but none of them are very serious. The worst, for instance, is that I will only answer to my entire first name. The nicknames that are usually customary for my name are utterly ridiculous. One of the only times I am called by a nickname is when my best friend is trying to be funny.

"However, I don't find your anti-pet peeves to be childish at all. To me, they are actually quite endearing.

"Now, onto your friend Alice…" Bella paused and looked directly at the pixie sitting on the floor next to me.

As soon as Alice realized that Bella had stopped, she gasped. "You can't stop there! What are you trying to do, kill me?"

Bella chuckled and continued.

"She seems like a real firecracker, but I bet she means well. For instance, if she hadn't made you write that letter, I wouldn't have had the chance to write you a letter in return. Hopefully that's a good thing for the both of us.

"It seems to me that you're surrounded by good people. Very good people. But what you seem unable to realize is that you yourself are an exceptional person also.

"The way you described yourself made me sure that you do not see yourself very clearly. Average would be the last word I would use when describing you, Bella."

As she read, tingles ran down my spine. Bella reading my own words out loud to me made me certain that I had done the right thing. Every word I had typed in that letter was the truth. And I meant every one of them with all my heart.

"There's only one thing I disagree with you about. Just because reality has rules doesn't mean that it can't be just as remarkable and breathtaking as a fairytale. With everything you bring to the table, Bella, I'm sure that your reality could be better than any fairytale.

"So you see, I don't think you should worry at all about finding 'the one', or your 'happily ever after'. In my opinion, the person you decide on will be an extremely lucky man indeed.

"I have enclosed my e-mail address in the hope that you will reply. I always look forward to hearing from you. Even just reading your letters makes my day.

"Sincerely, Yours."

Bella stopped and looked up. Both her and I knew that that was the end of the letter, but poor Alice had no such luck.

"God, Bella, have you already planned my funeral, or something? How do you expect me to keep on living if you don't tell me who it's from??"

"That's how it's signed, Alice," Bella explained. "No name. Just, 'Sincerely, Yours'."

"That can't be!" Alice yelped, tearing the paper out of Bella's grasp and rapidly scanning the note. But after about a minute of finding nothing, she finally gave up and handed the letter back to Bella.

"He seems… nice," Bella said shyly.

"Nice?!" Alice yelled, appalled. "That thing you're holding is jam-packed with implications!"

"No it's not, Alice," Bella muttered to her feet. Her cheeks flushed as red as a fire engine. I smiled in spite of myself, then quickly wiped what was surly a stupid grin off my face before anyone could see it.

"Yes it is, and you know it," Alice told her matter-of-factly.

Bella decided to take a different approach. "But what if this guy is like, and old geezer, or something?"

"Bella, it can't be an old geezer._ Right, Edward?_" Alice prompted, her gaze clearly stating that if the man who wrote this was, in fact, and old geezer, I would immediately be dead where I was standing.

"Of course not," I told both girls convincingly. Alice sighed in relief.

"You see? If Edward's not worried, then you shouldn't be, either."

Bella looked at me, and I shrugged, feeling that some physical movement was necessary. Then we heard the clicking of a mechanical mouse.

"Alice, what are you going?" Bella asked, looking over at her computer that Alice was currently holding hostage.

"I'm starting your e-mail to him!" Alice said gleefully.

Bella looked over Alice's shoulder and gasped. "'Dearest loved one'? Alice, I wouldn't say that!"

"You write it, then!" she huffed, crossing her arms and hopping onto Bella's bed.

"Sorry, Edward," Bella said apologetically to me. "Captain's orders." She jabbed a thumb in Alice's direction.

"It's okay," I said, getting up. "I have to go anyway. See you guys tomorrow," I said, waving to them.

"Bye, Edward," Alice chirped without looking at me.

Bella got up and gave me a hug. "Thanks for leaving me with this monster," she said from somewhere near my ear. I had to pull myself together to form a coherent sentence.

"Sorry," I mumbled against her hair. It wasn't even a sentence. It was one measly word. How pathetic.

But I didn't care. Her arms wrapped around me, the smell of her favorite strawberry shampoo, the feeling of her body so close to mine… it was almost too much for me to bear. Even though it had only been a few seconds, no longer than a normal good-bye hug, I had to pull myself away from her before I did something rash.

Bella laughed. "It's okay—it's not your fault." She sighed. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye," I said, quickly closing the door behind me.

As soon as the door was shut, I leaned against the hallway wall with my head against the cool wallpaper. I needed to calm down. I needed to get a hold of myself. If this was what was going to happen every time I touched Bella, I would need to be extremely careful around her.

I walked briskly down the stairs and out the door a minute later. The only thought that kept me going in the direction of my house and not back into the room was the thought of Bella's response soon after I got home.

**A/N: please review! it makes me happy and feel guilty if i don't update quickly ;)**


	3. Apologies

Okay. I know none of you want to hear this, but I am unfortunately going to have to put both of my stories on temporary hiatus. **TEMPORARY!!** As in, **WILL NOT BE FOREVER**. It will hopefully only be for about a month, a month and a half at the most. This is because I am a freshman in High School, am on the soccer team, and don't have enough time for everything else as it is. I hoped that weekends would be enough to be able to write and update, but weekends are when I have to finish and get ahead on all the assignments I have missed or need to do for the upcoming week. Most days I get up at 5:45 or 6 in the morning, catch the bus at a little before 7, get out of school at 2:15, have soccer until 5 (or sometimes 6 if there's a game), stay up until about 10 or 11 finishing homework, and do it all over again the next day. I simply have no time to do anything for myself, much less write fanfics for other people.

THIS IS NOT A HAPPY DECISION FOR ME, EITHER!! I love writing fanfics, and I love knowing that there are people out there who love reading what I'm writing. It makes me happy. But since soccer and school are eating up my life right now, I have to TEMPORARILY put my fics on hiatus until the soccer season is over. At that time, I will have an extra 3-4 hours after school to do homework! That means that I can go to bed earlier, get ahead, and most importantly, WRITE MY FANFICS! So until then, please stay with me. I apologize wholeheartedly. Soon I will be back and better than ever!

-Roonil Wazlib


	4. Romeo and Juliet

**A/N: I sincerely thank you guys for all your words of encouragement from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't have gotten through these few aweful months without you. Thanks for sticking with me. And now that I'm done being sappy, you can enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 3**

Edward's POV

The first thing I did after sprinting home was take a cold shower. I told myself numerous times that the reason I was dousing my entire body in gallons of freezing water was so that Bella would have time to type a substantial e-mail by the time I was done. It was merely wishful thinking.

With my hair still wet and only a pair of long pajama pants on (**A/N: just picture that for a minute...**), I went straight to the new e-mail I had created: Sincerely_. It seemed fitting enough.

I typed in the email, and then my password, which was exactly what it was: password. I always had trouble remembering those types of things, so I took the easy way out. If anyone ever wanted to hack me, they would have quite an easy job. Besides, it was better to make my password simple than not be able to get into my e-mail, and have Bella think that I had forgotten about her.

"You've got mail."

My inbox consisted of two new e-mails, both from Bella. One had been sent only moments ago, while the other was from about 15 minutes earlier. I opened the first:

_Dear Sincerely Yours, or whatever else you'd like to be called,_

_I just wanted to let you know that I don't usually do this. And by 'this,' I mean sending letters to complete strangers who may or may not be old geezers. That's not to say that you are an old geezer, but all the same, I'd very much like to think that you'd tell me if you were an old geezer. Thanks in advance. _

_My…_wonderful_ friend Alice is listing off questions for me to ask you as I type, and insisting that I ask you every single one of them. For instance, how old are you? Do you live near Forks? Do you have a real name? If so, what is it? What do you look like? These are some of the questions I would also like to know. _

_Now for the questions that Alice has for you, and will find a way to ask you whether or not they are put in this e-mail. And believe me, she'll find a way to ask you. Seriously. So although these questions aren't exactly things I'd like to ask, I'd rather ask you legally than have her perform Chinese Water Torture on you, or something psychotic like that. _

_But I do ask for your forgiveness for those somewhat rude and/or obnoxious ones. Which are most of them... Sorry._

_How tall are you? What is your shoe size? Do you or have you ever had any piercing and/or tattoos? If so, where are they and how many? (Sorry) Are you and have you ever been married? To your knowledge, have you ever fathered a child? (She doesn't know what she's doing, I swear) And last but definitely not least, boxers or briefs? (Oh dear God, kill me now) _

_And now Alice is demanding that I say no more until I have more information from you. I know that she's absurd. Honestly, I do. But I guess I owe her a little for getting my 'time capsule' to you, right? Now I just need to keep reminding myself that._

_Sincerely, Bella_

By the end of the e-mail, I was doubled over in laughter. Of course, this was only because I actually didn't have all that much trouble picturing Alice using Chinese Water Torture on some poor, innocent stranger to make them tell her if they have ever knowingly fathered a child. I would have been surprised if she hadn't asked any ridiculously private questions. It was typical Alice.

I clicked on the next e-mail, half wondering if it was a list of questions Alice had forgotten to ask in round one. To my surprise, it was something completely different.

_Okay Mr. Whoever-you-are,_

_It's finally me now. No Alice telling me what to write. And this time I actually know I'm writing to you. Who would have thought?_

_And about that other e-mail…I don't even know what to say. I'm so embarrassed that I really had to _send_ that. Ugh. I just want you to know that _I_ don't want to know the answer to any of those stupid questions. _I_ don't care. Well, not that I don't _care_… it's just—I mean… well… never mind. This is coming out wrong. What I guess I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't answer anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Even though that's basically everything. Anyway…_

_My questions were (hopefully) more general. More _normal_. I just want to get to know you better. You seem like a pretty decent guy. And…don't tell Alice this, but…I'm actually kind of glad that she sent that stupid 'time capsule' out. I'm glad I met you, even if it's only through writing._

_There's just that little issue about your name. I feel silly not knowing what it is. Or at least, if you're really opposed to telling me, give me something else to call you besides 'Mr. Whoever-you-are'. Because to be honest, that makes you seem like more of a creepy stalker. And that's a bad thing._

_Please e-mail me back soon. I like talking to you, and I'm really glad that you're not an old geezer. I think._

_Sincerely, Bella_

As soon as I was done, I clicked on the little 'reply' button and spent the next half hour typing back a ridiculously long response to her, never wanting to stop. But by and by, I ran out of questions and answers, leaving me with nothing to say. Nothing that wouldn't scare her, anyway.

Right before I sent the e-mail, I checked it over to make sure it was perfect. As it disappeared from the screen, I glimpsed the last sentence:

PS: I prefer boxers.

Yes. Definitely perfect.

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At around ten at night, Bella and her 'secret admirer' had sent numerous e-mails, exchanged screen names, and proceeded to talk until around midnight. With every word, I became more and more spellbound by her captivating ways. With every letter she typed, I wanted to be closer to her. With every minute, there was less and less that my mind could think about besides her. Second by second, I fell deeper and deeper in love with Bella.

**Klutz4life13:** Hey. It's Bella.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Hello Bella. Do you have a name for me yet?

**Klutz4life13:** I was actually hoping that you'd have one for me.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Sorry. That's against the policy.

**Klutz4life13:** What policy?

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** The no-name policy. If I tell you my name, the Name Police will come get me. Then I won't be able to talk to you.

**Klutz4life13:** Well, we wouldn't want that.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** I certainly wouldn't.

**Klutz4life13:** Me either. Not talking to you makes me…

There was a pause. Was she trying to drive me insane? What did not talking to me make her? Happy? Jubilant? Satisfied? My heart started to beat a million times a second. I couldn't stand it. Finally, she finished.

**Klutz4life13:** Well, not talking to you makes me a little anxious.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Really?

Really?! Had I actually just said 'really'? What did I want her to do, take it back?? I made a mental note to invest in a baseball bat if I was ever going to be this stupid.

**Klutz4life13:** Yes… sorry, is that bad? I didn't mean to upset you.

It was definitely time to invest in that baseball bat.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** No! I was just surprised because… honestly, I feel the same way.

**Klutz4life13:** Really?

She was mocking me. But I knew she was only kidding. Besides, I deserved it.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Really.

If I continued on at this pace, I knew I was going to end up admitting something I would later regret… like the fact that I loved her. Since I had finally gotten that creepy-stalker thing out of my system, I didn't want to go back to that. I decided to change the subject.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** You like to read, right? What's your favorite?

**Klutz4life13:** Well, I'm very partial to Jane Austen. But right now I'm re-reading Romeo and Juliet for about the 30th time.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Wow, that's actually pretty impressive. Don't get me wrong, I love classics; Shakespeare was a genius. But isn't 30 a little much?

**Klutz4life13:** Oh, I don't know. Every time I read it I find out something new. Besides, (and you'd better not tell anyone this) I used to have kind of a thing for Romeo.

I blinked once at the computer screen. Romeo? I had never heard anything about this fictional fascination! Did I suddenly have to compete with a dead character in a book for Bella's love? What was so great about Romeo, anyway?

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Romeo?

**Klutz4life13:** Yes, Romeo. Why? What's wrong with him?

I had to admit to myself that that was a fair question. It wasn't that there was really anything _wrong_ with Romeo… it had more to do with the fact that Romeo wasn't nearly good enough for Bella. No one was. Of course, that didn't stop me from pointing out every single insignificant little flaw I could think of.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:**You mean besides the fact that he's arrogant, pig-headed, impulsive, hot-tempered, immature, and slightly masochistic? Because if you won't count those few easily overlookable details, then yeah, he's a pretty swell guy.

**Klutz4life:** How can you say that? Romeo's a great person. I think you're just jealous.

My eyes bugged out at her words. Jealous? Of _Romeo_? Why would I possibly be jealous of someone who is the reason both of the main characters in the book end up dead?

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** I'm not jealous. I just want to know what makes Romeo so much better than any other guy.

Okay. So maybe I was a_ little_ jealous.

**Klutz4life:** I never said Romeo was better than any other guy. There are some people who have the same faults that you just picked out. They're just like Romeo.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Not really. At least, not to the same extent as Romeo.

**Klutz4life13:** So I guess you probably don't have any of those faults. You're probably perfect, right?

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Compared to Romeo? Yes. Most people are.

**Klutz4life13:** Ugh, forget it.

**Klutz4life13:** Wait, that's it!

I froze. What did she mean by 'that's it'? Could I possibly have been so obvious that she had figured out who I was already? I had been so caught up in the whole 'Romeo' thing that I had completely forgotten to keep my cover. Even still, I tried to play it cool.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** What's it?

**Klutz4life13:** Your name! What I can call you! You can be Romeo!

I was so surprised and relieved by the fact that she hadn't found me out that at first the information didn't process.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Wait, what?

**Klutz4life13:** You told me to think of something to call you, so I've decided to call you Romeo!

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Um… no.

**Klutz4life13:** What! Come on, it's a perfect fit. You're just like him!

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** You are utterly absurd, Bella.

**Klutz4life13:** No I'm not. And unless you want to tell me what your real name is, I now dub you… Romeo!

I groaned. I should have known better than to try to resist her.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** Bella…

**Klutz4life13:** Please…!

I knew I was going to crumble. I could feel my will power slipping. How could she affect me this strongly? It was insane. It was irrational. Then again, so was love.

**Sincerely_Yours1918:** All right, Juliet. Your wish is my command.

**A/N: lets have a group AWW! haha. Don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I do know what's going to happen. please review!**


	5. Jasper

**A/N: I'm not going to bore you with my insanely busy and boring liferight now, but i am going to apologize... again. BUT!! this chapter is the longest i have ever written. so enjoy =)**

**this chapter shows how unobservant boys can sometimes be ;)**

**Chapter 4**

The homeroom bell rang as I walked into my third-block biology class. Scanning the room, I saw Alice sitting in my seat talking animatedly about something I couldn't hear. But it wasn't the conversation I was interested it; it was the person she was having the conversation with.

Bella was sitting next to her, probably only half listening to Alice. She was unconsciously twirling a strand of her hair around the pointer finger of her left hand. She had a faraway look on her face, while her eyes were a little glazed over. She looked tired. Of course, that was understandable when you were up talking to a secret admirer until midnight.

I involuntarily took a few steps closer until I was within hearing distance of their conversation.

"Bella?" Alice snapped. "Bella, are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Bella responded, finally giving Alice her full attention.

Alice was quiet for a second, then sat back and crossed her arms. "All right, who is it?"

Bella blushed as red as an apple, saying, "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Bella, don't give me that," Alice scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's _him_, isn't it? You were thinking about_ him _again, weren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bella said evenly. She paused. "But even if I did, you'd be wrong."

"Bellaaaa!" Alice whined. "Please tell me what you're thinking! I have to know!"

"There's nothing to tell, Alice," Bella responded.

"_Sure_ there's not." Alice sighed. Then her eyes lit up again. "Oh, you're so cute when you think about him!"

Bella groaned. Alice didn't seem to notice.

"What do you guys talk about? Have you found out his name yet?"

"Well… not _exactly_…"

Alice's eyes bugged out. "_Not exactly?_ What is that supposed to mean?"

Bella's blush darkened. "I don't know his _rea_l name… we just have… nicknames for each other."

Alice squealed. "This is _too cute_! What are they?"

"No," Bella said. "There is no way on this earth that I'm telling you. That's between me and Ro—him."

"Ro? Ro what?" Alice demanded. "Please, Bella? I won't tease you. I swear. I pinky promise! Just please tell me!"

Bella sighed. She fidgeted. She looked away. Finally in a rushed undertone, she muttered, "I call him Romeo and he calls me Juliet." If it was possible, her blush darkened even more.

Alice sat straight up in her seat and covered her enormous smile with both of her tiny hands. After about fifteen seconds, she withdrew them and said, "Bella, that must be the most romantic thing I have ever heard in my entire life!" Then she leaned forward and hissed, "Why was I not informed about this?"

Bella mumbled something that I couldn't hear, to which Alice responded, "You didn't think it was _'all that important'_? And what else have you been keeping from me that isn't _'all that important'_?"

She put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. Alice's eyes absentmindedly roamed the room, obviously trying to understand why Bella hadn't run to her the very first moment that this development had taken place. I wasn't really paying attention to Alice's wandering gaze—I was much more preoccupied with the half-smile that danced across Bella's face when she had told Alice about our 'nick-names'. That is, until I looked over and saw Alice's eyes darting back and forth between my goo-goo stare and Bella. I mentally kicked myself for being so obvious. Of course someone was bound to notice me staring at her!

But why did it have to be Alice?

There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to hear about this later. The best thing I could do right now was the right thing. The _honest_ thing.

Pretend like nothing had happened and change the subject.

As nonchalantly as I could, I walked over to Bella and Alice. To my immense pleasure, Bella gave me a relieved smile and said, "Hey, Edward!"

"Hi Bella, Alice," I responded, trying to play it cool.

Before I had the chance to start some small talk, our teacher walked in, signaling us all to get into our seats and take out our things. As Alice walked away to her seat, I could have sworn that she gave me a warning look that had "We'll talk later" written all over it. But then I looked over at Bella, and all thoughts of Alice vanished, if only for a moment.

"Thanks," Bella said, giving me a smile.

"For what?" I asked, having completely forgotten about their conversation a couple minutes ago.

"For getting rid of Alice," she said, laughing. "She was interrogating me about that person from the letter. Again." She rolled her eyes while I tried not to look too guilty.

"Well, you know how Alice can be," I offered.

"I know," she admitted. Then she took on an entirely different tone. "Can I tell you a secret, Edward?"

My eyebrows arched. "Of course, Bella. You can tell me anything. You know that. Together forever, remember?"

Her smile widened, and she let out a breath that I hadn't even known she had been holding. "You're going to think I'm so silly… but I could never tell Alice any of this. She'd get too worked up."

For the first time, I started to really pay attention. "What's wrong, Bella?"

"Nothing's _wrong_," she said. "It's actually kind of the opposite."

Her eyes took on a faraway look as she started talking again. "It's the person from the letter, Edward. The _Sincerely Yours_ one? I've basically been talking to him all weekend. And… I think I might… like him." She bit her lip and looked up at me through her lashes, melting my heart. "I know what you're going to say. How can I like someone that I've never even met? But in a way, I feel like I've known him for a while. Isn't that crazy?"

Her smile was so innocent. How could I tell her that she wasn't as crazy as she thought she was? How could I tell her that she really did know Romeo? How could I tell her that it was all a lie?

I knew the answer. I couldn't. And it was killing me.

She gave me a sad smile, misinterpreting my anguished expression. "Well anyway, thanks for listening. I appreciate you not admitting how insane I sound right now." She laughed. "And… I'm really happy that I have you to confide in. I'm so glad that we'll always be friends."

Just then Mr. Banner cleared his throat, signaling us all to be quiet. Bella smiled at me once more before looking away.

But I couldn't look away. A single phrase she had said was still ringing in my ears: _"I'm so glad that we'll always be friends."_ Was that all she thought of me as? Was that all she hoped we'd ever be?

She obviously wanted something more with Romeo, though, that much was clear. What made Romeo so different from Edward?

Romeo hadn't listened to Bella's hopes and dreams for years, wanting them to come true just to see her happy. Romeo didn't know all of Bella's deepest, darkest secrets. Romeo certainly didn't have a secret handshake with Bella that was still in existence today.

And most importantly, Romeo wasn't even a real person. He was only a poser for Bella's best friend who loved her more than he should, but was too afraid to admit it.

Did I suddenly have to compete with myself for Bella's heart?

All this flashed through my mind in a second before Mr. Banner had even started to talk. I pulled myself together long enough to listen to what he was saying.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Mr. Banner."

"Today there is one announcement from your classmate, Alice Cullen. Alice?"

"Thanks, Mr. Banner!" Alice said, hopping out of her seat. Then she turned to us and said, "Hey guys! This year, our class officers have decided to throw an all-school dance!"

Immediately, the room broke out into girly giggles. All except Bella, who smiled and rolled her eyes._ Typical Alice_, she mouthed.

"The dance," Alice continued, "will take place on Halloween. This is because the theme is going to be…" She paused for dramatic effect. "A Masquerade Ball!"

There was a chorus of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' while Alice explained the details.

"It's a Halloween dance, so that means everyone has to wear a costume. But the catch is, everyone has to wear some type of mask. So make sure it matches your costume!" She was about to sit back down when she remembered something. "Oh yeah, and come with a date. That's all!"

Everyone was talking, but all I could do was think. Think about how I would love to take Bella to that dance. Think about being there with her. And think about how, all the while, Bella would wish that she were there with Romeo instead.

I put my head down on the lab station. What had I gotten myself into?

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Halfway through class, Mrs. Cope came in with a boy. He was very tall and had honey blond hair. He had cloudy blue eyes and a formal edge to his stride. Mrs. Cope and the boy walked up to Mr. Banner, and the two adults talked in low voices for a minute while the boy stood shyly beside them, looking at his shoes.

As the adults talked, our class gave the impression of polite silence. But once you listened a little closer, you started to hear all the whispers and hushed tones sizing him up. I had to admit, I felt a little bad for the guy. It couldn't be easy having to relive the horrors of freshman year as a sophomore.

Just then, Mr. Banner turned to us and said, "Everyone, this is Mr. Jasper Hale. He has transferred to Forks High from Texas. I want you all to make him feel welcome." He the gestured to the only empty seat next to Alice, and walked back toward his desk to let us finish our labs.

While Jasper was walking to take his seat, I heard Bella laugh a little. "What?" I asked, turning to look at her.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Just Alice. Anyway…" She trailed off a little, and then seemed to refocus. "So, what do you think of the new guy?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "He seems kind of shy. Maybe I should go talk to him… I bet it's hard for him to just come to a whole new school like that."

"That's a great idea!" Bella said. "Plus, he gets to work with Alice on his first day here." She rolled her eyes. "I can only imagine what she's putting him through right now. You'd better go save him."

Bella laughed, pushing me in his direction, sending tingles down my back at the same time.

I got over to their lab station just in time to hear Jasper say, "Jasper Hale. Nice to meet you, ma'am," so Alice. I expected to hear her voice, but instead I saw her eyes wide open and her mouth in a slight smile before she quickly pivoted and pranced away. Poor Jasper was left with his hand stuck out in the air, and an extremely confused look on his face. I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Edward Cullen," I said, putting out my hand to shake his like he had done to Alice. "I believe you just met my cousin Alice."

"Jasper Hale," he replied, shaking my hand with a smile. "And yeah, I just met her… I think." I laughed. Jasper had a very slight southern accent and a good sense of humor. I decided that I liked him. He seemed like a genuinely good guy.

"Sorry about Alice. She's not _that_ bad…I've learned to deal," I joked good-naturedly.

He shrugged, the smile remaining on his face. "I dunno… I thought she seemed pretty nice. Maybe I just… took her by surprise?"

"Yeah, the whole five feet of her was probably very shocked."

I glanced over at my lab station as we talked, and saw that Bella and Alice were conversing intensely with each other and doing the lab, so I chose to stay and work with Jasper. I found out a lot about him, all of which confirmed my initial opinion of him. I decided to ask him to sit with Bella, Alice and myself at lunch today.

"Well, I'll have to cancel a couple of meetings and reschedule some people, but I suppose I can make that work," Jasper said with a smile.

"Great. See you in about five minutes," I replied as the bell rang, and we went our separate ways.

Bella caught up with me as we filed out of class. "Making new friends, Edward?" she asked, her smile teasing.

"Yeah. Jasper seems like a really good guy. I told him he could sit with us at lunch."

She mumbled something about Alice and rolled her eyes. "What?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said. "See you at lunch."

I walked to my locker a little confused. Bella had mentioned something about Alice when Jasper had first come in, too. But what…

I let out a small gasp. Did Bella think that Jasper could be Romeo? She had been all smiles and laughs when he came in. She had spent the entire class talking to Alice, which strongly implied "girl talk". I mentally kicked myself for inviting him to sit with us at lunch. But then again, what Bella thought and felt wasn't Jasper's fault. He was still a nice guy. _And he's still sitting with us at lunch,_ I decided as I walked into the cafeteria.

I spotted where Bella and Alice were sitting and pulled up a chair. "Hey guys," I said.

"Hey," they both responded. I scanned the lunchroom for Jasper, but didn't see him yet. "Oh, Alice," I started, realizing that she didn't know Jasper was sitting with us yet," I asked J—OOMPH!" My head shot toward Bella questioningly, as if to ask, "Why did you just jack your elbow into my side?"

She stared at me with wide eyes and ever so slightly tilted her head in Alice's direction. I raised one eyebrow in confusion. I could see her head faintly moving back and forth, and she smiled.

"What?" Alice asked, looking first at me, then at Bella.

"Nothing," I grunted. "Stubbed… my toe."

"Oh good," Alive said distractedly, just as I saw Jasper start to walk over to our table/ "I thought you were going to say you asked Ja—"

"Hey, Jasper!" I grinned, looking directly over Alice's shoulder.

"Hello," he said shyly.

When she heard his voice, Alice's face went completely blank, and then she turned her head and glared at Bella. Bella just shrugged in return, giving Alice a small smile. As I watched this little exchange, I became even more confused. What was going on?

Jasper sat down between Alice and me. "Everyone, this is Jasper. Jasper, Bella and Alice." I pointed to each of them in turn.

"Hi Jasper," Bella said kindly. "How do you like Forks High so far?"

"Well, it's a lot colder than Texas," he said with a laugh. "But… the people are a lot warmer here." As he said this, he turned to look at Alice, and smiled. She smiled back.

"Hi," she said finally.

"Hi," he replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

And finally it clicked. Maybe it was the way she looked at him; her eyes slightly glazed over with a half-smile on her radiant face, and her head tilted to the side. Maybe it was the way he looked at her: like she was the only person in the room. But it was probably a combination of both.

Either way, I realized something. It wasn't Bella that liked Jasper. It was Alice.

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As soon as the last bell rang, I just about sprinted down the hallway to get home. I was within walking distance of the school, so as long as I got home before Bella, I could be online waiting for her when she got home.

I was almost in the clear when I bumped into something small and hard.

Alice.

I tried to get away, but she grabbed my arm and do-si-do-ed me around. "Where are you running off to?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," I grunted, "lots of homework."

"Lots of homework my aunt Petunia!" she said. "We for nothing today. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm not," I lied.

She crossed her arms. "All right, then. So how was your day?"

I groaned. "Fine. Can I go now?"

"No, now you have to ask me how my day was."

"How was your day, Alice." I said it as more of a statement than a question.

She pretended to thing. "Well, it was pretty good. Except, now that I think about it, there was one thing that really confused me. And funnily enough, it involved you, Edward."

I was about to walk away, when I realized what she meant. I began to swear. She couldn't know. Could she?

I was drowning in my own misery, but I had to know. "What do you mean?" I asked.

She sighed, and then asked the question I had been dreading the most. "Why were you staring at Bella today, Edward?"

I let out a real intelligent, "Huh?"

"You heard me. And don't even try to deny it," she said when she saw my face," because I know you were. So spill."

"I… That's none of your business," I answered smartly.

She sighed, shaking her head at my pitiful reply. "Edward, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. If you do not enjoy ancient Japanese acupuncture or intense _I Love Lucy_ re-runs, I suggest we do it the easy way."

I gulped. If she was dishing out _I Love Lucy_ re-runs already, then I was definitely in trouble.

"Let's you and I make a deal, Edward," Alice suggested, looking much more intimidating than any four-foot-eleven person should. "If I ask you a legitimate question, you don't give me a ridiculous answer. If you ask me a legitimate question, I won't give you a ridiculous answer. Deal?"

"Okay Alice," I said. Then, before she could say anything else, I blurted out, "Why were you staring at Jasper today, Alice?"

Alice balked. "I… Wha… That's none of your business, Edward!" she seethed.

I sighed, mimicking Alice's actions from a few minutes ago. "Alice, I believe I asked you a legitimate question. And," I added as I stared her down, "I believe you just gave me an extremely ridiculous answer."

I smirked at her as her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. "Now I _really_ have to go. I would appreciate it very much if we didn't mention this conversation to Bella. Agreed?" I didn't wait for an answer as I started to walk away.

When I was about ten paces away I heard Alice call out from behind me. "I'm not done with you, Edward Cullen!" she screeched.

I pretended to play it cool, not even looking back at her once. But the truth was, I was scared. Just because I told Alice not to do something had never stopped her from doing it before.

But this time, I had dirt on her, too. It as my only hope of keeping her quiet, and hopefully it would be enough.

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_Please, _Bella's IM begged,_ tell me what you look like. You don't have to give me a full description. Just give me something to go on._

I bit my lip, my fingers hovering over the keys. Of course, I couldn't tell her exactly what I looked like; that would be moronic unless I wanted to blow my cover. On the other hand, I didn't want her to be completely clueless. I decided on a happy medium: extremely vague details.

_Well,_ I typed,_ I'm tall. I have messy hair and I like to smile… especially when I'm around you._ It was almost intolerably sappy. But girls liked that… right?

_That is quite possibly the cheesiest thing I have ever heard in my entire life_, she typed back. Okay… so I guess maybe sappy wasn't the way to every girl's heart. Then I heard a ding, signaling another IM. _But I appreciate the complement all the same._

I looked at the clock, smiling to myself. It was after midnight again—time to finally go to bed. _I'm amazed by you_, I told her before I signed off.

_You're so sweet, _she typed back. _See you tomorrow, Romeo… maybe._

_You will, I promise. You just won't know that it's me. Until then, Juliet._

I wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow, though. I'd see her as soon as I fell asleep.

**A/N: sappy? yes. cheesy? of course. hope you laughed. please review!**

**Happy Holidays, everyone! May your New Year be filled with joy!**


	6. The Truth

**A/N: you should all be bowing down to jenna009 right now, because let me tell you, if that girl had not PMed me 4 days ago, this chapter would be nonexistant right now. POOF! gone. never written. nada. not here. abd you know what? i actually really enjoyed writing this chapter. i hope you get a laugh out of it. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight. Or Edith Hamilton's _Mythology_.**

**Chapter 5**

EPOV

_Around and around we went, one arm on her waist, one holding her hand. We spun closer and closer, our faces inches apart. I could smell her hair. I could count every eyelash. The music was slow and romantic. Everything was perfect, all for her. She looked into my eyes, and we leaned forward, slowly, deliberately. Right before our lips touched, I murmured, "Bella, I lo—"_

BEEP.

I groaned, rolling over and slapping my stupid alarm clock as hard as I could. Who had ever felt the need to invent such a horrible thing? I decided that whoever's bright idea it was must have ad a death wish. That was the only logical explanation. Or maybe whoever it was also wrote our math textbooks. It was a conspiracy theory. I didn't like it one bit.

"Good morning, Edward," my dad Carlisle said when I walked down the stairs. "I hate my alarm clock," I grumbled matter-of-factly. "They should be illegal."

He chuckled. "Ah yes, the fatal alarm clock. Is that why you're trying to murder your breakfast, by any chance?"

I stopped slaughtering my bagel with the butter knife. "Oh."

His eyes twinkled. "Well, I'm sorry your alarm upset you, but I do have some good news." He eyed me carefully. "If you put down your weapon, I'll tell you."

I rolled my eyes and put down the knife.

He smiled. "Our family from California is coming."

"Really? When?" my outlook on life brightened considerably.

"This weekend." He looked at me peculiarly. "Are you okay, Edward?"

I wasn't expecting that. "Yeah, I'm fine, dad. I love it when they come."

He shook his head. "Not that. I mean in general. You seem… unusual lately. Not bad, just… different. Is there anything on your mind?"

_You mean besides Bella? Nope, nothing. _"I don't know what you mean. Nothing's wrong, I promise."

I could tell he didn't believe me. But just like any real teenager, I completely ignored that fact and leapt up from the table. "Well, I have to get ready for school. See you, dad."

He downed his coffee. "All right, Edward, if you say so…" he was about to leave when he turned back to me and said, "I suppose you'll be inviting Bella?"

My stomach flipped involuntarily, and stayed there. "To our family party? That's okay?"

He shrugged. "Sure. She's practically family, anyway." He had almost closed the door when he said, "I'm sure Alice would like that, too."

"Wait, Alice is coming?" But the door was already closed.

I groaned. Stupid blood relatives.

Especially ones named Alice.

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I walked into English, and my heart gave a quick, sharp lurch. It was almost painful. But I forced myself to keep walking.

"Hey Bella." I hugged her, which didn't help my stomach situation. I let go quickly, but she stayed attached to me, her head against my chest. As much as I loved it, I was too sleep-deprived to try to restrain myself for long. "Uh, Bella? You can let go now."

"I hate alarm clocks," she mumbled into my shirt. I chuckled as she sat back in her seat. "And you were so much more comfy than the desk."

"Well, I'm glad," I said, still laughing.

"Armph," she agreed sleepily.

Jasper came in soon after, and the three of us talked for a while. All the time, I wondered where Alice was. It wasn't like her to be late.

Just as the tardy bell rang, she raced through the door and sat down. The rest of us scrambled to find our seats as well. Bella made a face at me; she was next to Mike Newton. He had always reminded me of a Golden Retriever. I could just picture him with his tail between his legs.

The bad part was, he had the biggest crush on Bella. The good part was, she had been aware of it for some time now, and used every chance she got to discourage it whole-heartedly. I found it quite humorous, though I'm not sure he did.

I took my seat next to nice, quiet Angela Webber. She could always tell if something was bothering you, and could make you feel better instantly. At the same time, she would never make you talk about something if it made you uncomfortable.

A yawn slipped out as I sat down. She noticed; she always did. It wasn't that she had a crush on my or anything. She just cared.

"Long night, Edward?" She raised an eyebrow and smiled.

I just nodded, and smiled sleepily back. Mr. Mason stood up in front of the room and started talking.

"Settle down class. Tyler, pick up that paper airplane, I don't care if it _is_ a 1950 Bomber, it doesn't belong in my classroom." We all turned and watched Tyler sheepishly pick up his airplane and put it in the trash. "Okay guys, today is everyone's favorite day: the day we get to start our _Wuthering Heights_ reports!"

A universal groan spread throughout the room.

"Oh, come on gang, its not that bad. Classic literature is fascinating if you look hard enough!" He paused, taking a look at all our disbelieving faces. "And… you get to work with a partner of your choice!" he added, watching the class explode into noisy conversation.

I smiled, and started walking across the room. I knew who I was going to partner with, of course; no matter what assignment, it was always the same. I stopped short, however, when I heard Mike talking to Bella.

"…if maybe you'd work with me?" He made a face that I guessed was supposed to make him look irresistible. I thought it made him look a tad constipated… but that was just me.

"Sorry Mike, I can't." She smiled apologetically, smooth as ice. "I'm working with Edward."

"But you always work with Edward," he whined, looking more like a constipated crybaby than I had thought possible.

"I know," she said with a shrug, turning away from him and almost bumping into my folded arms. "What?" she asked, taking in my smug face.

"That was quite a confident let-down." I eyed her carefully. "How do you know I'm not working with someone else?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

She was right. I wouldn't. Ever. But she didn't have to know that yet.

"Wouldn't I?" I raised an eyebrow.

She stared me down, and then shrugged. "Oh well. I guess I'll just go work with Mike then…"

"I was only kidding," I said seriously, reaching out to stop her. "There's no need to be rash."

She laughed, and I knew we were on even footing again. A sudden thought popped into my head. "Oh Bella, I almost forgot. What are you doing this weekend?" I had waited so long to pluck up the courage to use that line, and when I finally did, it was in completely the wrong context.

She didn't even look up from what she was doing. "Nothing, probably. Why?"

"We're having a Cullen Family get-together this weekend: my family, Alice's family, and my dad's other brother from California and his family. You're invited if you want to come."

She looked at me confusedly. "But I'm not a Cullen."

"You might as well be; you're as good as one," I said truthfully. _Even though it's not in the way I wish it were._

Bella blushed, and a wide smile spread across her face. "Oh, that's so nice, Edward! Your family rocks."

I left class feeling considerably lighter than when I had entered.

I walked to the library for a study block, and almost walked straight back out when I saw what—or more correctly _who_—was inside.

Alice.

_Maybe if I just avoid her…_ She moved to the left; I moved to the right. She went down; I went up. She looked back; I hid.

After successfully sneaking past her, I found myself in a cozy little corner and sat down in a big comfy chair. I popped my headphones in, turned on my music, and I was good to go. I was in my own little world, oblivious to everything around me.

Which was probably why I jumped about ten feet in the air when a small, cold hand took one of my earphones out, and whispered, "You didn't really think you could get away that easily, did you?"

"Alice!" I yelped. "What are you going?"

"Shh! We're in a library. Be quiet." She took a seat right next to me. Wonderful.

Alice leaned down and picked up a book off the floor, putting it in front of her face to make it look like she was reading. "So how long have you liked Bella?" she whispered.

My eyes bugged out, unbeknown to Alice, who was still hiding behind some random book. "What… Alice, I don't—it's… it's not like that!" I hissed back.

"Really?" she scoffed. "Coulda fooled me."

I sighed. "C'mon Alice. We're just friends. And that's all we'll ever be." I couldn't quite keep the sadness from creeping into my voice.

Alice turned toward me, but I avoided her gaze so she couldn't see how depressed I really was. But when I heard her voice, I wouldn't help it; I wasn't expecting what she said next.

"Oh, Edward, I can't believe I didn't see it before. I had no idea!" Her eyes were full of understanding, and… did she actually look… sorry?

I must have looked shocked, because she started explaining in a hurried whisper. "Here I was, thinking that I was doing a good thing by trying to get Bella a secret admirer! It was all so perfect! Little did I know, it was actually eating you up inside!"

"Alice—" I said in alarm, trying to stop her. She was getting dangerously close to the truth. The web of lies I had so carefully concocted was very close to being discovered.

Of course, Alice didn't notice. "Don't say a word. I feel terrible! I should have figured it out sooner! I could have gotten you two together so much quicker! If only I had—"

"Alice!" I finally interrupted. "Stop! That's completely ridiculous! I don't have a crush on Bella. I am perfectly happy being her best friend." Lies. "You have been watching way too many romantic chick-flicks."

She stuck her tongue out at me. Then she leaned over and whispered, "Speaking of which… what do you thinking of this Romeo character?"

Oh no. Anything but that. What was I supposed to say about Romeo? Obviously not the truth. So… what? "I think he seems nice," I blurted out. Where had that come from?

She raised her eyebrows. "Really."

I shrugged. "Well, Bella seems to like him. So he can't be that bad, can he?"

"You're not mad that he's trying to steal Bella away from you?"

"Alice, no! I told you, I don't think of Bella that way." More lies. This time I couldn't meet her eyes.

"Well in that case, have fun working with her on your English project together. I'm sure you'll have a great time not thinking about her in 'that way'."

I huffed. "I will. Who are you working with, anyway?"

This time she was the one who didn't meet my eyes. Her cheeks flushed a dark red, so I had a pretty good idea who she was working with before she told me. "Jasper."

I snorted. "Have fun not thinking about him in 'that way'," I retorted.

"Shut up, Edward," she said, her cheeks still burning. "I know there's something you're not telling me," Alice said dangerously, "Mark my words, I will find out what it is. And when I do…" she looked at me menacingly, making sure I had a pretty good idea exactly what it was she would do.

She went back to the book she was holding, and groaned in disgust. "Ugh, who in the world cares about the rate of lactic acid fermentation in a South Eastern geranium plant?" She crossed her arms, throwing the book to her side. I smiled and turned up my music. I had won… at least for now.

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I closed the door to my room, breathing a sigh of relief. I had successfully avoided another interrogation for Alice for the entire day, which earned me a gold star in my book.

I had brought the phone up to my room to so I could call Carlisle and tell him that Bella would come to our family party this weekend, and to ask if we could work on our _Wuthering Heights_ report Friday afternoon. Before I called I decided to start on the massive amount o homework we had been assigned today so I could make more time to talk to Bella online later.

In the middle of Algebra, the phone rang. I picked it up on the first ring, looking for a distraction from homework. Boy, did I get a distraction. "Hello?"

"You're him. You're Romeo. Or Sincerely Yours. Or whatever, it doesn't matter. You're him! I told you I'd find out what you weren't telling me. And I did."

I almost dropped the phone. How had Alice found out? How much did she know? Maybe she was bluffing. Yes, that was it. I had to believe that this was just a lucky guess. A very lucky guess.

"Alice? Is that you?" I forced my voice to stay calm. I couldn't let her hear the gears in my head turning, trying to find a way out of this mess.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me, Edward Cullen! I have proof! I can read you the last ten conversations you've had with Bella. The gig is up."

No. It couldn't be. "I don't know what you're talking about, Alice. Do you mean Bella's secret admirer? Because if you do, there is no way that I am actually Sincerely Yo—"

"'_I don't know. I still don't see why anyone would want to go with me.' _

'_I could think of plenty of reasons. You're smart, kind and funny… not to mention the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Anyone would be lucky to go with you.' _"

My heart stopped. Alice was reading my and Bella's conversation from last night. The reason why I had wanted to murder my alarm clock this morning. How could this be? Was it even possible to uncover past conversations? Obviously it was. But how could Alice have figured out it was me?

Alice went on, using my silence as an excuse to keep reading. "_'Um, wow… if only you could see how much I'm blushing right now.' _

'_I wish I could. The way you blush is one of my favorite things about you. It's what makes you who you are. Bella.' _

'_That's so sweet. You really have a way with words, Romeo.' _

'"_Never by night and never by day will I forget you, Juliet. And nothing but death will come between us."' _

'_Okay, now I'm really impressed. Shakespeare?' _

'_Nah, Edith Hamilton's _Mythology_.'_ Blah blah blah, some more mushy stuff… and then goodbye. Is that enough proof for you?"

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't see how I could lie my way out of this, but I would have to try.

"Alice, that still doesn't prove that this Romeo guy is me. It could be anyone."

"Who else would quote Edith Hamilton's _Mythology_?" she scoffed. And then: "Plus, no one but you makes their password 'password' anymore. It was the first thing I tried since I already suspected you."

I almost slapped myself. Only Alice would go to the extreme of actually committing a felony just to prove that I was Bella's secret admirer.

But no matter how she had done it, the facts still remained the same. I was Sincerely Yours. I was Romeo. And Alice had finally found me out. I hadn't even lasted a week, I realized with disgust.

And now that Alice knew, what was there to keep her from telling Bella? Not only would Alice doing so jeopardize my and Bella's friendship, but it would break her heart. If she never wanted to speak to me again, if she refused to do as much as look at me—well, it would kill me inside. But as long as Bella was happy, I wouldn't mind.

But if I broke her heart, broke all her hopes of ever being with Romeo, a much more worthy person than I… well, I would never forgive myself. How could I, knowing I had hurt her?

I was trapped, and I knew it. All I could do now was hope that Alice understood. I might as well have hoped that Hell would freeze over.

"Alice…" I sounded pained, even to my own ears. "Please. You can't tell Bella. Or anyone, for that matter. I just couldn't bear it if it turned out that I wasn't what she's looking for…what she thought she had. I'd understand if you don't want to do this for me, but Alice… please do it for Bella." My voice became very quiet, and I almost couldn't speak. "Please."

There was silence for a minute. Two minutes. Four. Finally I couldn't stand it. "Alice? Are you still there?"

"Oh my God," I heard her say in a very small voice. "You really care about her, don't you?"

I smiled a small, sad smile, though I knew she couldn't see it. "Yes. I really do."

"You obviously care about her as a lot more than a friend." I smirked. It had never been like Alice to be considerate. "How long have you liked her?"

I contemplated a moment, and then decided to tell her. What else did I have to lose? "Years," I said truthfully. "Probably since the first time I ever saw her. But I've only really noticed it… recently."

"Recently as in when? The past week? Month? Two months?"

"Erm… probably the past year, actually."

"The past year! Edward!" Alice was appalled. "And you haven't told her yet?"

"Alice! Haven't you been listening? I can't tell her. Not after all this. How could I do that to her?" I sighed. "She thinks that she's finally found someone: Romeo. To Bella, he's the prefect guy. How can I tell her he's a fake?"

"You know, Edward," she said in a more serious tone, "sooner or later you're going to have to tell her that you're Romeo. Either that, or break her heart by having him disappear. You can't protect her forever. Have you thought about that?"

I started pacing. "I know. Believe me, I know. I just… I just can't think about that right now. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I leaned up against the wall and put my free hand over my face in exasperation. "All I want right now is to make Bella happy," I said, almost to myself. "How could I have known what I was getting myself into?"

Alice was quiet for a while. "Edward," she started slowly, "have you ever thought that maybe she would be happy with you, too?"

I let my initial reaction take over. "Are you kidding, Alice? Bella would never like me. She likes Romeo—"

"And what makes Romeo so different from Edward?" Alice demanded. "I've looked through a lot of your conversations, Edward, and even though I was pretty sure it was you, everything you said to Bella confirmed it. You've never told her anything that isn't true. The only difference between Edward and Romeo is that Romeo isn't afraid of being rejected."

I started to retort back, but something stopped me. "Maybe… maybe you're right," I said slowly. "But if Bella wants Romeo, I still think that she deserves to get him." I sighed. "If only that were remotely possible…"

I expected _something _from the other end. Laughter, consent… something. But what I got instead was silence.

"Alice? What are you thinking?" I asked hesitantly.

"I think… that I have a plan."

I mentally prepared myself. This could either be a very good thing or a very bad thing. "What's your plan, Alice?"

She laughed. "You sound like I'm planning to kill someone!"

"How do I know that you're not?" I grumbled back. I thought it was a fair point.

"Don't you worry, Edward Cullen. Once you hear my plan, you may like me even more than you like Bella."

I groaned. "All right, Alice. Bring your worst."

**A/N: gasp. cliffy! you guys know the drill. click that little sucker like there's a big ol' chocolate chip cookie and an Edward doll are waiting for you. and feel free to PM me too... you all see the result of a PM! **

**oh... and i found this thing online that said _"Secret Admirer: a stalker with stationary."_ and i thought 'oh great... there goes my story.' haha, but don't you worry... i'll keep little stalker Edward going at it till the very end =)**


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